Cultivating awareness, understanding, and stewardship of the Wenatchee River region
Welcome to Week 2 of our 10-week challenge, designed to encourage new naturalist discoveries as we continue to practice social distancing and wait for the coming vaccinations! I invite you to rustle up a pair of snowshoes, shoe gripper/spikes, or cross county skis and head out to create your own adventure.
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The Wenatchee Valley has been blanketed in snow this week, creating fresh opportunities for tracking dogs and cats, right in our yards and neighborhoods. Our towns are often travel corridors for wild Felines and Canines, like coyote, cougar, and bobcat. By learning to identify domestic dog and cat prints in snow and mud, we are training our brains to know when we see a wild member of these animal families. Continue Reading →
I’ve put together a 10-week challenge to encourage new naturalist discoveries as we continue to practice social distancing and wait for the coming vaccinations! Starting on Monday, Jan. 25, 2020 and running for ten weeks. Continue Reading →
The onset of needed rain in Washington’s Cascades also brings gray skies and a monochromatic feel to our day. Last week, my family hiked to Easy Pass in the North Continue Reading →
Before 1850, our shrub-steppe plant communities were adapted to frequent disturbance, such as wildfire. The resilient native long-lived shrubs, bunchgrasses, and wildflowers were adapted to either re-sprouting or re-growing from seed, in a decades-long predictable pattern of succession. However, with the introduction of non-native annual grasses, primarily cheatgrass, this pattern was dramatically disrupted. Continue Reading →
What is it like to spend childhood nestled in a landscape filled with sagebrush? Today, I’m sharing stories of two women who put pen-to-paper to say how growing up in Wenatchee’s shrub-steppe made a lasting impression as they were coming-of-age. Continue Reading →
Fireworks are a main cause of human-started wildfires in sagebrush county. Invasive grasses are putting sagebrush country at risk of severe wildfires. This vibrant ecosystem is vital for people and wildlife. We need to do our part to protect it, especially with fireworks this weekend. Watch and share this new video to learn what we need to do to stop the spread of invasive grasses and restore degraded sagebrush habitats. Continue Reading →
Right now, dozens of long-distant migrating songbirds are setting up shop in our shrubby canyons, leafy aspen groves, and riverside cottonwood forests. I invite you to visit one of these nearby habitats to hear and see colorful songbirds who have arrived from Mexico and Central America to nest and raise young in our valley. Continue Reading →
Osprey are large fish-eating bird-of-prey found not just in Wenatchee, but all around the world. Today’s blog serves to introduce this species, using spectacular shots by local photographer, Frank Cone. T Continue Reading →
The American goldfinch are small social resident songbirds active in our neighborhoods. Watch for the lemon yellow male with a black cap and groups of birds flying together, calling “potato chip.” Continue Reading →